A MURDER inquiry is under way after a 41-year-old woman and her six-year-old son were found dead in a house in Bolton-le-Sands, near Carnforth.

Officers were called to an address on Lowlands Road in the village at around 11.40am where they made the discovery.

The woman was found downstairs while her son was in the upstairs front bedroom of the semi-detached dormer bungalow. Both had sustained knife injuries.

A man with stab wounds, apparently self-inflicted, who was also found inside the property was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The 34-year-old was airlifted to the Royal Preston Hospital where his condition is described as 'serious'.

Police said they they were a 'family unit'.

At a press conference outside the house, Detective Superintendent Paul Withers of Lancashire Police, who is leading the investigation, said: "We received a call earlier this morning from a family member of the people inside; as a result of that call we came to the address.

"Police officers entered the premises and sadly inside they found the dead bodies of a six-year old boy and a 41-year-old woman. There was also another male within the premises with significant stab wounds.

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"He is known to the family. His injuries are quite serious and clearly we are monitoring his condition."

He said nobody else was wanted in connection with the deaths.

"It is quite a distressing scene as you can imagine. Obviously we are keen to ascertain what has happened. I think it has happened in the last 24 hours. The post-mortem examination will help us ascertain exactly what happened, and how.

"We are pursuing various different lines of enquiry so hopefully as time progresses we will know more about what has happened.

“This is being treated as a murder inquiry. If anybody has any information which they believe could assist our investigation I would urge them to contact police.”

He said he believed the family were local to the Bolton-le-Sands area.

Neighbours on the quiet residential street said they were shocked at the incident, and that the family that live in the house had not been there very long.

One woman, who did not wish to be named, said: "The first we knew was when there were police cars racing round the corner.

"It is really surprising because it is such a quiet area. We don't know the family there but they've only been here a couple of weeks. It is all very grim and you just never know what's going on in people's houses."

Neighbour Peter Hammersley, 46, a night manager at Tesco, said: "They literally just moved in a few weeks ago. An elderly person moved out and I just saw them, a youngish family, moving in with the boxes and giving it a quick lick of paint.

"You tend to say hello to everybody when you are out walking the dog but I didn't really speak to them. I assumed the man was some sort of tradesman.

"This is not something you expect to see around here."

Mike Craddock, vice chairman of Bolton-le-Sands Parish Council, said: “It is certainly not something you would expect to happen in the village – it’s quiet.

“Like anyone else would be, we are shocked and horrified and feel sorry for anyone involved.”

David Morris, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, added: “It’s terrible when something like this happens in any part of the world but it’s very quiet here. It’s awful.”

A cordon is in place at the scene.

Post mortem examinations to establish the exact causes of death will be carried out this evening, Lancashire Police said.

Anybody with information about the incident is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.